Inground Concrete Swimming Pool - Minimal Maintenance

Rambo80 on 20/10/2019 - 13:27
Last edited 20/10/2019 - 14:07 by 1 other user

Hey Guys,

So I acquired an inground Pool when I purchased my house about 2 years ago.. For just a little over the last 12 months I have doing absolutely nothing to maintain the pool water. Now It looks like a swamp.. I even had 9 baby ducks, the mother & father living over there the other week.. Thankfully they vacated the premises..

So I made a trip down to the local Poolwerx store in the area & got the water tested.. As one could imagine I need basically everything done. I plan to get the water into top condition, then replace the send out in the filter (It will likely need it after the cleanse) as I think its underperforming (That being said I'm far from a pool expert in any stretch of the imagine).

I asked the Poolwerx rep what is the minimalist work one needs to do in order to just protect the concrete surface of the Pool. He advised that as long as the calcium levels are right the surface of the Pool should not deteriorate prematurely.

In a Nutshell, seeing I almost never ever use the Pool, I just want to do the bare minimum after the upcoming summer where the concrete surface won't deteriorate prematurely etc. Is the advice from Poolwerx Rep accurate? Do I just need to maintain the calcium levels in the water to avoid any premature deterioration of the Pool Service? I noticed just above the water line I occasionally get a white powder forming.. Does anyone know what that is caused by?

Below are some Photos. Also included is some video footage of the ducks.. :)

Image with white type powder just above the water line:

https://ibb.co/zZvMbzP

https://ibb.co/z5hWczy
https://ibb.co/N19RTvs

Ducks enjoying themselves in my Pool :( -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyCwmN_iamA&feature=youtu.be

Home & Garden

Comments

  • toniyellow on 20/10/2019 - 13:46
    +6

    If you would prefer to leave it to the ducks you could convert to a pond http://www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/Current_projects_priorities/Key_pr…

  • Ocker on 20/10/2019 - 16:42
    +1

    The white powder is calcium build up

  • JIMB0 on 20/10/2019 - 16:55
    +3

    I'm eagerly awaiting your post on minimal lawn maintenance.

  • Davo1111 on 20/10/2019 - 17:13

    if you dont use the pool, why bother spending the money to maintain it?

    Surely it would be cheaper to remove it than regular maintenance.

    • Ryanek on 20/10/2019 - 18:12

      Removing and filling in a pool costs typically around 6 to 7k.

      • Davo1111 on 20/10/2019 - 20:23

        and the cost to maintain it every year? (properly)

  • sleepy le beef on 20/10/2019 - 17:26

    Is it tiled all the way down or just at the top. Calcium levels are unlikely to be low in a concrete pool but you will have alkalinity/pH issues. A regular addition of pool acid to keep that down would do the trick. The white is a calcium carbonate type deposit, if its fairly light an acid wash may lift it. Sometimes it can be fairly stubborn, elbow grease and a jiff type cleaner with a kitchen scourer would do it. Its only cosmetic though so its up to you if the effort is worth it. Sand change is probably worth it, that monarch filter is fairly old so who knows if its been changed. I wouldnt bother with getting glass media though, poolwerx will push it but I dont think its worth the extra, certainly if youre not using it. Do you have a chlorinator? If thats working ok, acid regularly and you should be ok. Is that tube on the photo an acid doser?

    • Rambo80 on 21/10/2019 - 10:32

      Hey there,

      Its just tiled near the top.. The rest is cement. So about 95 percent cement surface. Yes, the Alkalinity/PH makes sense.

      The Sale Chlorinator is working ok, although I think its actually to small for the Pool. I noted when I did use it, even with a new cell & good level of salt in the Water, the Chlorine produced from it seemed to vary from ok to very ordinary.. Someone on this thread mentioned swapping to Magnesium, but what caught my eye was that its cheaper to run.. :) I will explore that option this week..

  • WreckTangle on 20/10/2019 - 18:41

    Great post! Cool vid of the ducks, but the pool seems a hassle. Is the small one a spa?

    • Rambo80 on 21/10/2019 - 10:35

      It is.. Next to the Pool Pump is a gas heater for it.. Never even turn it on..

  • elgrande on 20/10/2019 - 19:54
    +2

    Nice duck video Jase

  • [Deactivated] on 20/10/2019 - 20:45

    Look at swapping to magnesium, heaps easier and way cheaper, water nicer and clearer. Best thing we did with our pool a few years ago.

    • Rambo80 on 21/10/2019 - 10:34

      Hey,

      Thanks for the tip. from a quick read up, it looks as though to go Magnesium you need to swap out the Salt Chlorinator for another type.. What system did you elect to use? Some company called Magna Pool pops up upon a Google search.. I am sure there are others..

      What was the saving for you compared to Salt Chlorination? I assume you came from a Salt Chlorination based pool.

      • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2019 - 11:25

        Yes we had salt swapped to MineralChlor, was about $1500 installed 2.5 years ago. Water doesn't go out of balance with rain like salt in summer, magnesium is all i put in mostly, occasionally buffer, calcium, no salt, acid. I get mine checked a few times over summer at local pool shop that installed it, don't bother over winter.
        I run my filter 2 hours in winter and about 5 in summer, 8 x 4 fibreglass 14 years old.
        Water is nicer, cleaner, clearer, you can see ants on the bottom , no slat/chrlorine smell. Like having a mineral bath.

        https://aiswater.com.au/products/mineralchlor-generic-series…

        Also get a Zodiac CX20 cleaner to chuck in and your maintenance is almost over.

  • GG57 on 21/10/2019 - 09:06

    I would get a complete service from Poolwerx (or similar) and get the pool ready to use for summer. If you don't, your back yard will just be a waste of space with a very unattractive water feature.

    As others have said, if you don't want the pool, get it filled in. It will cost a bomb but you will no longer have the hassle.
    If you keep the pool but not maintain it, it will become a drag on your asset value.

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